HOW TO CONNECT YOUR ARMS AND WAIST IN tai chi
Advice and recommendations from the great masters on the use of the waist in the art, including examples by Bruce Lee, Sifu Yin-Yang Eyebrow and teapotmonk.
The Role of the Waist: Bruce Lee
Back in the early 80s I started learning with Sifu Yin Yang Eyebrow who taught a style so flowery that you could have planted it in a window box. I loved its exotic hand and wrist moves that he appeared to have borrowed directly from flamenco. Such movements reminded me of a back alley fight from Way of the Dragon and as much as I wanted to imitate Bruce Lee, doing so would not help me understand the role of the waist.
The role of the Waist: Sifu Yin Yang Eyebrow
When I asked Sifu: "Don't the arms derive their strength from the waist?" he said stop asking stupid questions and to keep practising the 8 Inner-Aardvark Shaolin Breaths.”
In my next class I looked at Sifu Yin-Yang Eyebrow and in particular his waist and wondered of it followed nothing more than his rather dubious dietary habits. When I proposed the idea to him, he scoffed at me (as I'm convinced he did with those Custard Tarts before each class) and defensively pointed out that his belly was full of Qi.
Eventually, my mind and wrists ached so much, I dropped the style.
At home, I perused the Tai Chi Classics and discovered that the arms should not move independently from the waist. Also that the the waist should "follow the mind", which if I'm honest, didn't help at all. They might as well have advised that the waist follows the whim of Neptune's Trident or the breath of a middle-aged dragon.
At which point, I changed classes..
Waist, Arms & the Mind.
So what does it mean for the mind to lead the waist or the arms? Because as much as it sounds very Eastern and profound, I'm tempted to say that we often do too much mind leading as it is. Shouldn't we be turning down rather than amplifying the sound?
Ultimately, I suppose, whatever explanation you find, whatever style you practice and under whomsoever's tutelage you eventually study, you have to decide for yourself.
Exercises to Connect Your Arms to Your waist
For me it is less of a transcendental explanation, but one grounded in basic physiology. Connecting the movements of the limbs to the centre axis of the body makes sense. Forget thinking about it, just relax and let your waist express itself through your limbs. If you want to really understand this, try practising with a sword, as - paradoxically - using an object in your arm really helps you take your mind out of your limbs and back into your centre.
And being centred will help with any mind/body activity - and by that I don't just mean tai chi, yoga or meditation, I mean washing the dishes, walking the dog, doing a 10 minute workout or take it further and try overthrowing a corrupt regime (there rare plenty out there to choose from).
Obviously, some may point out that the easiest way to connect your arms to your waist is though birth. This is true, but failing that, you could try these few simple exercises that will help reconnect your disparate limbs to your body.
WHY we CONNECT to THE WAIST
When you are moving as a single unit and ready to take on the world with loose shoulders, a loose tongue and slippery hips, try this yielding exercise below. In these days of social distancing it may prove useful when confronting mask-less crowds in supermarkets, coffee queues, or when storming the Winter palace with your local vanguard friends.
WHAT NEXT TO DO?
Continue your Development of Flow by learning how to embrace it in daily life in this special Tai Chi module available now.
